Boat drain and valve unit



Nov. 25, 1969 M. R. DOSAL ET AL 3,479,981

BOAT DRAIN AND VALVE UNIT Filed Feb. 20, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 74977)!) R. DOS/ 7L 135345105 SHLHS-HUMQEH 197' TOIF/UEX Nov. 25, 1969 M. R. DOSAL ET AL BOAT DRAIN AND VALVE UNIT Filed Feb 20. 1968 66 Z ll Ill: 2 I 60 2i I54 I 26 \L/// ////////////////////////////////////////M s INVENTOR. M41? Tl/U K D0591. CHRL 05- 5441.95 Hl/MHRH BY 1969 M. R. DOSAL ET AL 3,479,981

BOAT DRAIN AND VALVE] UNIT Filed Feb. 20, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 arm/max United States Patent 3,479,981 BOAT DRAIN AND VALVE UNIT Martin R. Dosal, 1043 NE. 98th St., Miami Shores, Fla. 33153, and Carlos Salas-Humara, 2742 NE. 37th Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33308 Filed Feb. 20, 1968, Ser. No. 710,434 Int. Cl. B63b 13/00 US. Cl. 114-183 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE For use on a boat, a device to drain excess water from within the boat and which includes a one-way valve to restrict the entrance of water into the boat when in an overloaded condition; the one-way valve includes a valve body which defines a flow through path including a depending U-shaped portion and a vented chamber so that an air bubble is adapted to be trapped in the valve body to obstruct the passage of water therethrough when submerged or depressed below the float line of a craft on which it is installed as when it is in an overloaded condition.

This invention relates to boats, and, more particularly to a boat provided with a unit which is adapted to drain water therefrom and which in the preferred embodiment includes a one-way valve to restrict any tendency of water to flow into the boat, when the boat is in the water and irrespective of whether it is in an overloaded condition or not.

In many conventional boats, there is an air chamber defined between the outer hull and the inner hull or deck, which chamber adds to the buoyancy of the craft. Also, in such boats, a well or trap is ordinarily provided below the inner hull or deck to collect and trap excess water in the boat. A hole is provided to communicate between the well or trap and the outer hull below the normal water line so that any water within the well is withdrawn from the boat by forces of entrainment when the boat is traveling through the water. However, when the boat is stationary in the water, it is necessary to close the opening or hole leading to the well, as by a cap, because, if this is not done, water will drain into the boat through this hole and it will slowly sink, i.e., causing the float line, which is defined as the water level on the exterior surface of the boat, to rise. Often a boat operator will forget to close the drain opening when he stops his boat, and because the relatively heavy engine is usually mounted on the stern or transom, which is also the usual location of the hole in the aforesaid well, the stern of the boat sinks first and most rapidly so that damage to the relatively expensive engine by water is not an infrequent result.

It is an object of this invention to provide a unit for such a boat which will automatically drain water which gets into the boat and which includes a one-way valve so that under an overload condition water will not enter through the unit into the boat.

It is another object of this invention to provide a device of the type described which includes a one-way valve having a body with a flow through path including an entrance mouth, an exit port, and separate, discrete chambers with a U-shaped portion intermediate the chambers and with the chamber adjacent the exit port being vented so that on the reverse flow of water seeking entry into the boat, as by an overload condition, air will be trapped in the second chamber and obstruct the entrance of water into the boat.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved drain means and one-way valve for a boat which is adapted to be installed in existing boats which is 3,479,981 Patented Nov. 25, 1969 ICC inexpensive to manufacture, which includes no moving parts, and which is automatic in operation.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a boat on which the instant invention has been installed;

FIGURE 2 is an elevation view which has been broken away and is partly in cross section and illustrates the installation of the instant invention;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged plan view of the central portion of FIGURE 1 illustrating the instant invention;

FIGURE 4 is a view in cross section of the invention in a first condition in use; and

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 4 and illustrating the instant invention in a different condition in use.

FIGURE 6 is plan view of an alternative embodiment of the instant invention; and

FIGURE 7 is view partly in cross section taken on the plane indicated by the line 7-7 of FIGURE 6 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, and referring particularly to FIG- URE 1, there is shown a boat generally designated by the numeral 12 and having a relatively heavy outboard motor 14 mounted to the stern or transom 16. The boat is of the type often encountered in the field which includes an outer hull portion 18 and an inner hull comprising the deck 20. The space or chamber 24 between the hull 18 and the deck 20 is sealed defining an air pocket or fluid chamber 24 to increase the buoyancy of the boat. In conventional craft, a well is provided at the stern of the boat with an opening communicating with the exterior of the boat below the normal float line, so that, when the boat is in motion, any water which is in the boat will, by the entrainment forces caused by the motion of the boat, be sucked or drawn from the boat interior. When the boat is stationary, however, such an opening, of course, must be closed so that water does not drain back into the boat tending to overload it. It will be appreciated that by reason of the weight of the motor 14, the rear or stern of the boat is depressed substantially, and since this is where the opening is customarily located, if it is not capped or covered, water which enters into the boat will quickly submerge the outboard motor causing water damage. The present invention provides drain and valve means to obviate this problem so that such a boat will when stationary in the water and whether under load or not, resist the entrance of water through a drain opening so as to avoid sinking of it and the submerging of the outboard motor and, additionally, which will drain from the boat any excess water which enters into it as by a rain storm or the like.

The structure comprising this improvement will now be described with particular reference to FIGURES 4 and 5 in which it is seen that a unit 22 is provided and housed in the preferably sealed float chamber 24 in communication between a drain hole 26 in the outer hull and an opening 28 in the deck 20 or inner hull. The opening 28 is located at the intersection (a) of the axis of the longitudinal center line of the craft, i.e., the axis of roll, and (b) the axis of pitch. Also, the deck is sloped such that this point of intersection is preferably at about the lowest point of the deck; that is, the deck slopes to the lowest portion 28. The unit 22 is composed of three parts: (a) a valve body or tubular length 30 open at One end 32 and with an opening 46 at the other end, and having a septum 34 intermediate its length defining a first and a second discrete chamber 36 and 38 respectively, each having an opening 40 and 42 in the floor 44 adjacent the septum 34 aligned with the aforesaid opening 46; (b) a U-shaped connecting assembly 52 which connects the openings 40 and 42 on either side of the septum; and (c) a hollow stem 54 connecting the opening 46 and the hole in the hull 26. More in detail, the U-shaped assembly 52 preferably includes a flexible U-form hose length 58 to the ends of which adapters 60 and 62 are connected and interfit with fittings 64 and 66 engaged in fluid-tight relation to the valve body 30 in the openings 40 and 42 respectively. The hollow stem 54 is composed of a hose length '68 which is connected to an adapter at either end 70 and 72 which in turn are threadably connected at the upper end to a fitting 74 in the opening 46 and at the lower end to the fitting 75 in the opening 26 in the hull. It will also be seen that a vent pipe 80 is provided with one end 82 being snugly passed through an opening 84 in the roof of the tubular length 30 and positioned in the interior chamber 38 at about the junction with the column of the stem 54, the other end 88 of the pipe 80 extending upwardly to a vented point at a height at least as high as that of the motor. Preferably, the end 82 projects slightly into the column of the hose length 54 so that, as will be apparent hereinafter, the volume of the chamber 38 will be generally equal to the volume of an air bubble which will be captivated and used in a valve type action which will be described hereinafter. It will be seen that by reason of the location of the end of the vent tube in the top of the hose length 54 in the chamber 38 that when the boat is moving, any water which is trapped in the neck of the assembly 52 will not be removed because the suction forces caused by the entraining effect as the boat travels through the water will be exerted in the form of suction which will draw air through the vent pipe 80.

The operation will now be described by considering the various conditions which can be expected to be encountered by such a craft. When the boat is running through the water, any water which has entered the boat will be drained through the unit which is slightly inclined so that the deck mill remain generally dry. When the boat is stationary, water will be restricted from entering through the unit by reason of the one-way valve, in a manner which will be apparent in the following description. Even assuming that a boat equipped with the unit were submerged so that it is entirely beneath the surface of the water a certain distance, it will still rise to the surface and all of the water will drain from it. It will come to the surface because the buoyant forces will tend to raise the boat until it is at sea level or at water surface. As the surface of the water the water within the boat will drain through the unit until the sea level is at about the plane of the opening 46. This drain action will occur because at all times prior to the boat rising to this position, there will be a head of water within the craft greater than that of the level of the water in which the boat is floating which will cause the water in the boat to drain out through the unit. When the seal level is at about the plane of the opening 46, air will enter through the pipe 80 and form an air bubble in the chamber 38 which cannot escape past the bend in the U-assembly 52 in which some water will be trapped. In this condition, that is, with the air bubble inside the unit, the unit will again drain any water which comes into the boat and will resist any type of overload condition.

It will be apparent that an overloaded condition may occur by reason of a load applied uniformly over the deck of a boat, such as would characterize the weight of water accumulated in a heavy rain storm. Alternatively, a boat may be overloaded by heavy cargo at selected points; for instance, by a heavy load applied at the bow, at the stern, or on the starboard or port side.

Considering first a uniform overload such as might occur when a boat is tied up at a dock and a heavy rain storm occurs, the result will simply be that the water will drain out through the unit. This will occur because the buoyancy of the craft will at all times cause the water level or head within the boat to be at least slightly higher than the water level outside the boat, and, as seen in FIGURE 4, this head will cause the Water within the boat to drain through the unit, as seen in FIGURE 4. It has been found that if the diameter of the drain pipes of the unit are in the order of about one inch, that the outflow of water will b suflicient so that the boat will drain out water from the heaviest of rain storms for a conventional sized motor boat.

Turning now to the other type of load, the type which is applied selectively as by cargo. If the load is applied at the bow of the boat, this will cause the stern of the boat to raise as the boat pivots about the axis of pitch. It will be seen that by reason of the location of the mouth of the unit on the axis of pitch that it will not move any great distance by reason of this action, but there will be a displacement upwardly of the drain stem 54 of the unit. If one were viewing a transparent drain stem 54 and were watching this action, he would notice that the water level within the drain would appear to descend. The significant point is that no water will enter through the unit when the valve or drain stem 54 is in this attitude. If the load were applied at the stern instead of the how, there would result a tilting of the boat with respect to the same axis of pitch with the mouth staying in the same relativ location or position. In this event, there would be an increase in the depth of the water in the drain tube 54. As this increased response to the tilting caused by the stern load continues, the water level in the tube 54 would approach and ultimately close the mouth or entrance 84 of the vent pipe 80. At this point, the air in the chamber 38 will be trapped and thereafter, it will require a tremendous load to drive the bubble down and around the U bend so that it can escape and in this way it resists any downward pressure prohibiting the entrance of water and effecting the one-way valve action. The location of the mouth 32 on the axis of roll results in the same lack of displacement of it in response to starboard side or port side loads. In other words, because the location of the mouth is on the axis of roll, in the event of an imbalance of load in favor of either the starboard or the port side, the mouth will always be at the lowest point and will not be substantially raised or lowered by a roll or tilt of the boat due to the application of a selectively applied load such as by cargo.

The operation of the unit results because of several factors. First, a boat must be desgined such that when it rests in the water, there is an equilibrium achieved between the forces due to gravity and the uplifting forces of buoyancy, all in accordance with Archimedes principle of displacement of fluid. For any boat there will be a certain float line characteristic of the craft; that is, a level on the exterior of the craft to which height the outside water will normally reach. The unit is situated with respect to this float line such that the upper end of the column of the hose length 54 is sufficiently above the float line under a normal load condition for the 'boat, which takes into account the weight of the operator, an outboard motor and a reasonable number of passengers and associated equipment. However, when the boat is overloaded beyond the ordinary capacity, and irrespective of whether that load is applied uniformly or selectively at the bow, stern or on the starboard or port side, the upper end of the column of the hose length will be, by the weight, depressed so that it is slightly below the float line while the boat is standing. It is in this condition that the one-way valve aspect of the invention is operable. By reason of the unfavorable head of water outside of the boat due to the overload, i.e., the elevated float line with respect to the upper end of the column of the hose length 54, water will tend to enter into the boat coursing through the unit. Such a flow will be impeded because the volume of the air in the chamber 38 constitutes an air bubble or trap to obstruct the flow. As generally indicated above, the trap is achieved in the following manner: as the water enters and flows up the column of the hose length 54, it will close off the end 84 of the air vent pipe 80 so that the air which is trapped in the chamber 38 cannot escape except by coursing through the assembly 52 which will be blocked by water in the neck or curve 53. The trapped air bubble will resist the entry of further water through the hose length 54 until'such time as the overloading force is of such a magnitude as to drive the air bubble down one side of the assembly 52 so that 'it can escape around the neck, a load condition which will not be encountered without first submerging the boat. Thus, there is provided an effective one-way overload valve which permits a continual, persistent draining effect whenever there is water in the boat even though it is stationary and which resists the entrance of water when the boat is overloaded.

The normal position of the unit and particularly the valve body of the unit, and more specifically, the arrangement of the innermost air trap chamber 38, is such that it is slightly below the main horizontal plane diagonally across the chamber 36. This is so that when the entrance of the tube 80 is closed, the air will be locked in the second or innermost chamber so that the bubble or air trap which is to be controlled for use is always captivated and not permitted to escape through the air vent except under the condition desired.

In the preferred embodiment, the mouth of the drain unit is arranged at the intersection of the pitch line and the longitudinal center line of the craft. It will be apparent that by reason of the sloping of the deck to a lowest point at the aforesaid intersection, there is an enlarged float chamber and consequent increased buoyancy adjacent the transom to elevate this latter ordinarily most weighted portion of the boat which bears the outboard motor or other driving means. It will also be apparent hereinafter that, by the provision of decks sloped such that the lowest portion of the deck is at the intersection of the axis of pitch and roll, the opeartion of the valve unit is facilitated for the reason that any tossing of the craft in the water will result in this area being the lowest portion of the deck area since all rolling or pitching will generally be about this as a center. The selection of this area as that for the entrance mouth of a one-way valve type draining unit, it will be appreciated in view of this disclosure, is a significant contribution to the resolution of the problems described herein. Succinctly stated, the sloping of the deck to this area at about the intersection of the axis of pitch and roll serves two functions. First, it flows the water within the boat to this point for efficient removal by the one-way unit and, additionally, it adds more volume to the float chamber at the rear of the boat so as to increase the buoyancy forces at the rear transom where the outboard motor is ordinarily installed to hold it in an elevated position under a load condition.

In the preferred embodiment, the device is installed as indicated in the drawings and the entrance mouth to the tubular length 30 or valve body is somewhat enlarged to provide the skirt portion 89 so that small movements of water through the unit will not be visible to occupants within the boat, for instance, under the conditions prevailing in FIGURE 5. Alternatively, the opening may be in the roof of the skirt 89 of the valve body so that the special deck arrangement indicated in FIGURES 4 and 5 need not be made and the unit may be installed in the existing deck of a boat, it being understood that in the preferred embodiment the mouth is at all times to be installed at about the lowest point of the deck when it is in a stationary position and under a normal load.

It will be seen that a boat employing this invention will be especially safe by reason of the constant drain or self-bailing eifect, and any wash of waves which partially fills the interior of the boat will drain outwardly and thus the safety of the craft will be increased. Also, when other type boats have been used for fishing, one must carefully wash the inside of the boat with water to avoid objectionable odors. In the past, such small fishing boats were taken from the water before the interior was sprayed with water. This was so that the cleaning water would flow out through the drain hole. On a craft provided with this invention it is not necessary to remove the boat from the water because of the continuous draining effect. Further, as is perhaps well known, many people worry about a boat which is tied up along a dock and a heavy rain storm occurs because the boat will fill with water unless it is covered and submerge the relatively expensive outboard motor or damage the contents. With this device it is not necessary to run out and cover such a boat in a heavy rain storm or to turn on pumps because any water which enters the boat will simply drain away by reason of the self-bailing described above. Finally, it will be apparent that there are no moving parts rendering this invention extremely simple in construction and inexpensive to operate,

and that with the provision of screen means 69 to prevent the entarance of any jamming particles into the unit, it is of highly trouble-free character and operation.

Reference will be made to FIGURES 6 and 7 which illustrate an alternative embodiment for boats which can be expected to encounter a heavy bow load.

It will be seen that under the condition where an extremely heavy load is applied at the bow of a ship on which a unit such as that of FIGS. 1-5 is installed, the mouth 32 of the unit might tend to be depressed below a horizontal plane through the exit port of the chamber 38 and, consequently, the upper end of the drain tube 54- will be elevated with respect thereto also. Under these circumstances, the captivated air bubble in chamber 38 might be expelled through the vent tube and the unit would no longer be effective to achieve a self-bailing of shipped water, and some water may enter through the unit until the bow load is lightened. For this reason, the embodiment shown in FIGURES 6 and 7 is the preferred embodiment on boats on which a heavy load can be expected to be applied at the bow. The configuration of this embodiment compensates for the displacement of the upper end of the drain tube 54 which occurs on bow down tilting about the axis of pitch and which characterizes the embodiment of FIGURES 3 and 4.

:Referring to FIGURES 6 and 7 illustrating this embodiment, it will be seen that the chambers of the valve body are in side-'by-side relation, that is, the entrance chamber is in side-by-side relation to the exit chamber and the portions of the valve body defining these side-by-side chambers are inclined with respect to one another so as to define an included acute A angle therebetween. The location of the entrance from the exit chamber to the drain tube 54' is at about the same location with regard to the bow of a ship on which it is installed as is the entrance mouth 32 which is at the intersection of the axis of pitch and the axis of roll. By reason of this construction, it will be seen that irrespective of whether an extremely heavy load is applied at the bow or not, the exit port from the exit chamber of the unit will at all times be beneath the plane of the entrance mouth 32. This prevents the escape of the air bubble and therefore the unit is effective even under such a boat. To simplify the specification, the portion of the structure illusrtated in FIG- URES 6 and 7 which are common to the embodiment of FIGURES 3 and 4 similarly numbered with a prime designation having been employed.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made thereform within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.

What is claimed is:

1. For a boat, a drain and a valve unit comprising:

a valve body defining a hollow interior, divider means to separate the interior into an adjacent discrete first and second chambers, said body having a pair of openings in side-by-side relation, one on each side of the said divider means and in close adjacent relation to one another and said divider means, an entrance mouth in the valve body to the first chamber and in spaced relation from said opening in said first chamher, and an exit port in the valve body for the second chamber and in spaced relation from said opening in said first chamber;

a generally reversed-trap means depending from said body and interconnecting said openings beneath said body;

a hollow drain stem extending beneath said body in open communication with said exit port; and

a vent pipe arranged in said second chamber at about the jucture between the column of the drain stem and the second chamber and extending upwardly from said valve body,

whereby the device is adapted to be installed with the mouth opening to the deck of a vessel at the intersection of the axes of pitch and roll and with the exit port below the mouth; so that water on the deck may drain through first chamber, trap means, second chamber and drain stem, and a counter flow of water entering the drain stem to course through the unit to the mouth will trap an air bubble between the drain stem and the bend in the reversed-trap means and normally in the second chamber so that substantial overloading forces are required to be supported on the boat deck before the air bubble will be forced through the reversed-trap means to prevent sinking of a craft on which the unit is installed.

2. In combination, the drain and valve unit as set forth in claim 1, and a boat including an inner deck and an outer hull with a chamber defined therebetween, said outer hull having an opening communicating with the exterior of the boat and beneath said inner deck, said inner deck having an opening at the intersection of the axis of pitch and the axis of roll of the boat, said valve body being disposed between the deck and the hull with the mouth at about said intersection and with the exit port of the body being spaced beneath a horizontal plane through said intersection.

3. The device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said exit port is spaced rearwardly from said intersection.

4. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein said valve body includes a first portion defining said first chamber with a main plane and a second portion defining said second chamber in a plane at an angle with respect to said first plane, and said portions being of a length such that the entrance mouth and the exit port are in substantial side-by-side relation and said entrance mouth is above the plane of said exit port.

5. The improvement as set forth in claim 1 wherein means are provided to protectively span said mouth to resist entrance of particles into the unit.

6. The structure as claimed in claim 1 in which said divider means comprises a septum consisting of an element projecting between the opening interconnected by said reverse-trap means, said reverse-trap means comprising a U-shaped assembly having opposite ends detachably and sealingly connected to said openings.

7. In combination, a boat having an inner hull and an outer hull with a chamber defined therebetween, and a drain and valve unit in the chamber, said inner hull having an opening in communication with the interior of the boat and an opening in the outer hull below the opening in said inner hull, said valve comprising a one-way valve, whereby shipped water in the boat may drain outwardly through the drain and valve unit but not inwardly, said unit having an entrance mouth and said mouth and said inner hull opening being on the axis of roll and at about the axis of pitch, the area about the axis of pitch and the axis of roll being substantially the lowest portion of the deck, said unit being vented to the atmosphere and including trap means in the unit to captivate a bubble of air as the unit is submerged together with a boat on which it is installed.

8. The improvement as set forth in claim 7 wherein the inner deck slopes to said intersection so that the chamber is enlarged at the stern area with respect to the area at said intersection.

9. The combustion as set forth in claim 7 wherein said unit includes a valve body having discrete, separate fluidtight chambers and a depending U-shaped tubular portion interconnecting said chambers, one of said chambers having said mouth and the other of said chambers having an exit port, and tube means interconnecting the exit port and said opening in the outer hull.

10. The device as set forth in claim 9 wherein said body defines a hollow interior, septum means dividing the interior into .said discrete chambers, and a vent means arranged in fluid communication with said chamber having said exit port, said vent means extending above said intersection.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,698,792 1/ 1929 Hammer 93 ANDREW H. FARRELL, Primary Examiner 

